Vintage Doomsday Deck List Analysis for 2021.05.01-03

Here comes the Witch.

Saturday Challenge




Sunday Challenge





League

Core and Differences

Core

Creatures (6)
Street Wraith
Thassa's Oracle

Sorceries (13)
Demonic Tutor
Doomsday
Gitaxian Probe
Ponder
Portent
Preordain
Time Walk

Instants (22)
Ancestral Recall
Brainstorm
Dark Ritual
Daze
Demonic Consultation
Flusterstorm
Force of Negation
Force of Will
Gush
Mental Misstep
Mystical Dispute
Mystical Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Lands (14)
Fetch Lands
Island
Underground Sea

Artifacts (3)
Black Lotus
Mox Jet
Mox Sapphire

Enchantments (1)
Necropotence

Sideboard (11)
Mindbreak Trap
Leyline of the Void
Fatal Push
Steel Sabotage
Island

Diem4x (1st Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Fatal Push
Opposition Agent

ZYURYO (7th Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Fatal Push
Opposition Agent

Ark4n (23rd Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Library of Alexandria
Opposition Agent
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

sixmp (24th Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Library of Alexandria
Opposition Agent
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

shir kahn (3rd Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Fatal Push
Opposition Agent

discoverN (7th Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Library of Alexandria
Mindbreak Trap
Opposition Agent
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Matti (24th Place) Differences

Main (1)
Duress
Sideboard (4)
Fatal Push
Library of Alexandria
Mindbreak Trap
Sedgemoor Witch

sixmp (30th Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Library of Alexandria
Opposition Agent
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

revenantkioku (32nd Place) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Fatal Push
Opposition Agent
Sedgemoor Witch

Ark4n (5-0) Differences

Main (1)
Dig Through Time
Sideboard (4)
Duress
Library of Alexandria
Opposition Agent
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Total Differences

Draw (9)
Dig Through Time

Discard (1)
Duress
Sideboard (0)

Discard (8)
Duress

Creatures (14)
12 Opposition Agent
Sedgemoor Witch

Lands (6)
Library of Alexandria

Counters (2)
Mindbreak Trap

Removal (10)
Fatal Push
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Thoughts

We have a 59-11 Core this week, since Matti decided to run Duress over Dig Through Time. Lists have been so consistently the "discoverN core" as of late, as Strixhaven didn't add much to the mix for Doomsday. Except for maybe the one sideboard card that is only slightly showing up.
As Duress has become so close to sideboard staple, putting it in the main may not be the worst of ideas. discoverN and Matti are both playing two copies of Mindbreak Trap in the side, which the higher numbers of Flusterstorm in the format due to Sedgemoor Witch would validate. Library of Alexandria's numbers are also up, which makes sense if combatting BUG or other blue-based decks currently revolving around the Witch.
Would a Duress and a fourth Flusterstorm over Necropotence and Dig Through Time give the deck an edge against the BUG and Esper decks running around? Or is it time to put Portent to the side and find something that gives more of an edge?
Does The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale have more value when Sedgemoor Witch is rampant? Or would a more specific card like Illness in the Ranks or Amulet of Safekeeping provide the necessary edge to improve our chances?
I think Illness is too specific, although it can buy time against Monastery Mentor. The Amulet is interesting as it also makes Deathrite Shaman activations pricy, but if we are spending two mana, isn't Tabernacle just a better play?
People are already talking about Sedgemoor Witch restrictions. While it might be Mentor-level powerful, the swarm of pests the Witch summons sure gives them their name.
Having tried it myself in the side, I'm not too impressed. Since Doomsday's goal is not to reduce opponents to zero life, it doesn't really do much other than give a bit of time or get the opponent to spend a counter. This is obviously good, but not where the deck wants to be, I feel.


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